Trainspotting 2

[holyzombiejesus]

Danny Boyle has said it will be his next film.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/07/danny-boyle-confirms-trainspotting-sequel-at-telluride-film-festival

"All the four main actors want to come back and do it," said Boyle. "Now it is only a matter of getting all their schedules together which is complicated by two of them doing American TV series."

I'm going to take this with a pinch of salt; if it's to be released in time for the 20th anniversary next year, it should be a bit further ahead than just planning stages, surely. I'd prefer him not to bother anyway.

[Noodle Lizard]

I swear he said this ages ago as well.

Was there actually a written sequel to Trainspotting?  I know Porno (I think) involved Renton, but aside from that I'm none the wiser.

[DukeDeMondo]

I would say Porno counts as a sequel. There was a prequel as well. Skag Boys I think it was called.

I read Porno ages ago but I remember next to fuck all about it, other than a bit with Sick Boy and Begbie (maybe) filmin a woman shaggin a dog.

[Noodle Lizard]

I'm one of them who thought Filth was good, so I'm not writing it off entirely.  Can't think of much I've liked of Danny Boyle since he went all Hollywood tits-up though.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I would say Porno counts as a sequel.

It's definitely a sequel.

Though a slightly odd one in that it reads more like a sequel to the movie than the book.

Either way it's terrible and I wouldn't be surprised if they ditch it entirely and start from scratch with a new premise.

[Noodle Lizard]

IMDb's saying Porno is Danny Boyle's next film, but IMDb has been wrong in the past.  But presumably a Trainspotting sequel could only start with Renton in Amsterdam[nb]can't remember if Amsterdam was mentioned in the film, but in the book I'm pretty sure that's where he's off to[/nb], right?

[Puce Moment]

Porno really wasn't very good at all - it seemed to lack any of the heart and 80s misery of Trainspotting, replacing it with puerile humour and ridiculous scams.

My abiding memory is of a credit card sting which involves the conceit that many protestants have 1618 as their pin number.

[mobias]

I remember Ewan McGregor saying he thought Porno was crap and wasn't at all interested in turning it into a movie. I presume any sequel to the Trainspotting movie would be entirely different or just very, very loosely based on the book.

I thought the first half of the film adaptation of Filth was good, and clearly influenced by Boyle's Trainspotting, but the second half was weak. It was one of those films that because there weren't enough likeable characters in the entire film you ended up not giving a fuck about any of it. I was bored by the end.

It'll be interesting to see what Danny Boyle does with the Trainspotting sequel. I'll keep an open mind about it. I see Ewan Bremner in the street sometimes in Edinburgh, I think he lives in Stockbridge somewhere.   

[CaledonianGonzo]

My abiding memory of it is the key plot development of the female lead losing the rag with Sick Boy when he edited the titular porno - Seven Rides For Seven Brothers - to make it look like she was taking it 'ass to mouth'.

It really is a wretched book.

[mobias]

How many genuinely good Irvine Welsh books are there? I always get the impression a lot of his recent output is basically just shit and reek of someone desperately trying to shock his audience. I haven't read any of his books for a while though.

[CaledonianGonzo]

One.

[Puce Moment]

He's never even got close to bettering Marabou Stork Nightmares.

Trainspotting is very good, The Acid House is good in parts, Filth is ok, and the rest can get tae fuck.[nb]You know? Scotch like the way Welsh writes.[/nb]

[thraxx]

I enjoyed Porno a lot, but I'm not sure it's any more than okay.  I'll take any chance I get to delve into the world and characters he creates.  Trainspotting is the only really decent book he's ever written and that is an incredible book.

They've been saying that Boyle is about to start filming Porno for about the last 10 years.  Would McGregor really want to go back to this?  All the other actors give up their lucrative series roles and wages to make a film that would likely be shit?

[mobias]

  Would McGregor really want to go back to this?  All the other actors give up their lucrative series roles and wages to make a film that would likely be shit?

Ewan McGregor has said for a long time he wouldn't do it but recently has started saying he would do if they could come up with a decent story and script. I guess they must have done that if he's now agreeing to it.

The rest would't have to give up anything if they can fit the filing in around breaks in their schedules.

[thraxx]

Ewan McGregor has said for a long time he wouldn't do it but recently has started saying he would do if they could come up with a decent story and script. I guess they must have done that if he's now agreeing to it.

The rest would't have to give up anything if they can fit the filing in around breaks in their schedules.

You would have thought that it would be easy to come up with a script from the book, as the plot is hardly complex and lends itself to a screenplay.  Unlike Trainspotting which had no real plot and was fragmented.

[Hollow]

He's never even got close to bettering Marabou Stork Nightmares.

Trainspotting is very good, The Acid House is good in parts, Filth is ok, and the rest can get tae fuck.[nb]You know? Scotch like the way Welsh writes.[/nb]

Sounds pretty bang on, although I would tend to think Filth is more than okay...had skagboys on my shelf since I bought it two years ago...don't think I've read a page.

[Pdine]

Surely an older Renton should be played by a CGI Alec Guinness doing a shit Scots accent?

[Serge]

I did think that Welsh was tailoring 'Porno' with one eye on it being made into a film, as Renton is a minor character in it (in case McGregor didn't want to do it) and Sick Boy the headliner (Jonny Lee Miller wasn't exactly setting the world alight when it was published.) The only thing I really remember from the book is

Spoiler alert

the ending with Begbie coming round from a coma and grabbing Sick Boy's wrist after the latter admitted to sending him gay porn in prison.

[close]

Welsh started strongly - 'Trainspotting', 'The Acid House' and 'Marabou Stork Nightmares' are a pretty good trio to kick off anybody's writing career! 'Ecstasy' had one good story in it ('The Undefeated') and two quite poor ones (though also features a character quite plainly based on Jimmy Saville and incorporating most of the stuff that at the time was just rumour). 'Filth' was ok, though I did feel like having a long bath after reading it. 'Glue' was shit apart from the bit where they go record shopping in Germany. 'Porno', as I said, barely registered with me. And after that, I haven't bothered. I was given a copy of 'Skag Boys' a couple of years ago, but haven't even bothered opening it up yet.

[Mister Six]

He's never even got close to bettering Marabou Stork Nightmares.

Trainspotting is very good, The Acid House is good in parts, Filth is ok, and the rest can get tae fuck.[nb]You know? Scotch like the way Welsh writes.[/nb]

What about the sequel to Filth? I quite liked the sound of that. It seemed ridiculous.

[Hollow]

What about the sequel to Filth? I quite liked the sound of that. It seemed ridiculous.

Crime...It's okay...nothing to write home about, it's not all that ridiculous though.

It's only a sequel to Filth like Glue is a sequel to Trainspotting though...ie not at all.

[SteveDave]

I see Ewan Bremner in the street sometimes in Edinburgh, I think he lives in Stockbridge somewhere.

When I first moved to London I saw Ewan Bremner in Kings Cross & it took all my strength not to scream "MAGGIE!!!" at him.

[Hollow]

When I first moved to London I saw Ewan Bremner in Kings Cross & it took all my strength not to scream "MAGGIE!!!" at him.

Heh...the petulant dwarf...:)

[Leo2112]

I think any sequel would have to resist the temptation to ape the original in any way (and perhaps be willing to discard elements of the book sequel).  Recently seeing Filth for the first time brought that home.  In both script and direction it was embarrassingly dated, to the point where you wondered whether those making it had actually seen any films made in the last 20 years.  The portrayal and treatment of gay characters was one such bizarrely anachronistic feature, reserving plenty of jokes at their expense which could only appeal to mid-90s lads mag readers.  I guess this problem was in part due to an unwillingness to update the original book.  Elsewhere the zany jump cuts to introduce new characters were ever present, as well as many boring drug interlude bits.

With the talent involved I would hope a Trainspotting sequel could try something new.  A focus on a now presumably clean living Renton would surely change the style from the outset.

[Hollow]

I think any sequel would have to resist the temptation to ape the original in any way (and perhaps be willing to discard elements of the book sequel).  Recently seeing Filth for the first time brought that home.  In both script and direction it was embarrassingly dated, to the point where you wondered whether those making it had actually seen any films made in the last 20 years.  The portrayal and treatment of gay characters was one such bizarrely anachronistic feature, reserving plenty of jokes at their expense which could only appeal to mid-90s lads mag readers.  I guess this problem was in part due to an unwillingness to update the original book.  Elsewhere the zany jump cuts to introduce new characters were ever present, as well as many boring drug interlude bits.

With the talent involved I would hope a Trainspotting sequel could try something new.  A focus on a now presumably clean living Renton would surely change the style from the outset.

Or due to a willingness to delve into the murky depths of society and try and approximate the truth of the attitudes of people.

The film was shot pretty faithfully, the problem being a lot of the really 'bad stuff' was in inner monologue in the book...same is true of Trainspotting too...that film pales next to the book for that very reason...Renton is just not the scumbag he is in the book, mainly cause you don't know what he's really thinking, we had the voice over of course, but no film should resort to that ever.

Filth is a good film, for the very reasons you say it's 'embarrassingly dated', Robertson is willfully 'old school' in a changing world...why should everything be sanitised to protect people's delicate feelings? Some people do think things like that about 'poofters'...why not show it?

[Puce Moment]

I have to say that I have been nothing but cynical about Trainspotting 2 since the point when it was announced. I consider Boyle to be over-rated and have no interest in his films at all, outside of Trainspotting, which I consider to be fantastic. Yet as hard-faced as I resolved myself to be going into this trailer, I instantly had hairs going up on the back of my neck. Damn you to hell nostalgia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKvACyyUXKE

I've also bumped a sequel to the top of the movies forum - to add to all the other sequel, reboot, capes, children's threads!

[Serge]

I was confused, as I thought I'd posted more in this thread than I appear to have, and then realised there are two threads, so I'll just repeat what I said in there: No Kelly Macdonald? (Yes, I know, she didn't appear in the original teaser trailer that that one references either...)

Has anybody read 'The Blade Artist'? Looks interesting, but will probably wait for the paperback, unless I'm told it's not worth it.

[Default to the negative]

One problem with adapting 'Porno' is that the book is set in a time before internet pornography had become the norm. I mean fuck, you even have Begbie discussing mobile phones as if they're a novelty.

The central scam involves Sick Boy pushing Nikki as an up-and-coming pornstar, culminating in them making a film which wins a "prestigious" award in the smut industry. They treat this event as if it's hitting the big time. It all harks back to the days of Ron Jeremys and Jenna Jamesons, when you could really be a star in that business, and not just another thumbnail image.

This would all seem extremely dated in 2016. I'm guessing they'll drop the whole porn angle and focus instead on the story of ageing rebels/ne'er-do-wells.

[Brundle-Fly]

I think it's a shame they're making this. The original wraps up so well.

Then of course, Lee and Herring added that extra final scene. Starts at 27:42 mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hVVdM6kFdA

[Mango Chimes]

I have to say that I have been nothing but cynical about Trainspotting 2 since the point when it was announced. I consider Boyle to be over-rated and have no interest in his films at all, outside of Trainspotting, which I consider to be fantastic. Yet as hard-faced as I resolved myself to be going into this trailer, I instantly had hairs going up on the back of my neck. Damn you to hell nostalgia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKvACyyUXKE

I'm optimistic about this to a doomed extent, but in that there...  Bremner looks like an old Spud if he'd cleaned up rather than dying, and Miller looks like Sick Boy (although I'd've thought he'd have moved on from bleaching his hair.)  Carlyle looks a bit healthy and normal, but that plays if Begbie has become a bit more of a long-fuse than a tinderbox psychopath.

But Ewan McGregor stands out looking like he's about to present a documentary as Ewan McGregor.

[Hangthebuggers]

Has anybody read 'The Blade Artist'? Looks interesting, but will probably wait for the paperback, unless I'm told it's not worth it.

Yep - Strange book. I don't want to spoil anything. It's set after Porno and is primarily about Begbie and how he's trying to turn his life around. It's a continuation of He ain't lager which was a short story printed in the Big issue, which in itself is a follow up to Reheated cabbage.

Some have been critical of it -

Spoiler alert

Begbie's life turning around being too unrealistic, say some.

[close]

However I thought it was a cracker and really got under my skin